Eunice aldermen move to update aging fire truck fleet

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Mayor authorized to buy new fire truck
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The agenda item was not much more than a blink of an eye, but in that moment the Eunice Board of Aldermen cleared the way to update the city’s aging fire truck fleet.
Mayor Scott Fontenot is to buy a new fire truck expected to cost about $400,000. The purchase also must be approved by the State Bond Commission.
The newest trucks in the fire department inventory are a couple of 2005 pumpers. The oldest truck is a 1972 50-foot ladder truck.
The 2005 fire trucks were acquired in 2007, Fire Chief Mike Arnold said before Tuesday evening’s city meeting at the Eunice Municipal Complex.
Arnold said the purchase will help stop the slide in the city’s fire rating that started in 2014 when the rating dropped from a 3 to 4. Insurance costs rise with higher numbers up to 10.
The city has 10 fire-fighting vehicles. Two of those vehicles are a rescue-service unit and the other is a grass-fighting vehicle.
The authorization to purchase a new truck was triggered after a 1978 mack pumper went out of service in January 2017.
Arnold said he has to have reserve trucks and the loss of the 1978 truck created a shortage.
Compounding the fleet trouble is a pump burned out on a truck being used a reserve unit, he said.
Arnold said much of the aging fleet is in good condition.
“They all work ... but they are starting to cause a problem because when those old things break you can’t find parts for them,” he said.
The city has three stations. There are five vehicles at the Central Station, two vehicles at the Amy Station and three vehicles at the Sittig Station.
Arnold listed the fire department’s vehicles as follows.
Unit 31, 2005 Sterling pumper
Unit 21, 2005 Sterling pumper.
Unit 5 2004 Ferrara pumper.
Unit 8 2004 Ford F-450 wildland-rescue.
Unit 18 2004 Ford Explorer chief’s vehicle, service unit.
Unit 1 2003 Ford F-450 rescue, service unit.
Unit 11 1990 Mack pumper.
Unit 12 1990 Mack pumper.
Unit 9 1985 Mack pumper.
Unit 7 1978 Mack pumper.
Unit 6 1972 Mack 50-foot ladder.
The national standard for fire trucks is that they be no older than 20 years, he said.
The oldest in the Eunice fleet, a 46-year-old ladder truck passes its tests, which are done regularly, he said.
“When we a malfunction we repair it. But when it goes down it is hard to find parts,” he said.
A minimum dispatch in the city is two pumper trucks and a service unit, he said.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, aldermen approved the fire department buying 36 air bottles at a cost of about $24,000.